David Zwirner Gallery to Open Outpost in Hong Kong in 2017

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David Zwirner, center, in London in 2013. The decision to open a gallery in the region was prompted by “explosive growth in the interest for Western art among Asian collectors,” he said.CreditAndrew Testa for The New York Times

By Amy Qin

June 9, 2016

BEIJING — In the fall of 2017, David Zwirner Gallery will open its first outpost in Asia in Hong Kong, the continent’s fast-growing hub for contemporary art.

It will be the fourth location for the gallery, which is based in New York and has two spaces there and one in London. The 10,000-square-foot exhibition area is to be spread over the fifth and sixth floors of H Queen’s, a 24-story “gallery and lifestyle tower” under construction in the bustling Central district, and will open shortly after the building is completed.

Speaking by telephone from New York, Mr. Zwirner said the gallery decided to open a space in Hong Kong based on its experience over the last few years participating in ART HK, a local art fair, and its successor, Art Basel Hong Kong.

“We have seen literally explosive growth in the interest for Western art among Asian collectors,” he said. “About two years ago, I had this moment, and I thought, ‘Oh my God, if this is how people are learning and engaging, then we’ve got to have a gallery in the region.’ ”

Mr. Zwirner said that although he and his associates considered other cities, like Beijing and Shanghai, with substantial concentrations of artists and collectors, Hong Kong was “absolutely the clear choice.”

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The 10,000-square-foot exhibition area is to be spread out over the fifth and sixth floors of H Queen’s, a building under construction in the Central district.

“I love the European strain in Hong Kong,” said Mr. Zwirner, a German-born dealer. “There are still so many parallels to the way businesses are done in Britain in Hong Kong, and I can relate to that.”

“More importantly, it’s a hub now for Asian collectors and curators,” he said.

Zwirner is following in the footsteps of other prominent Western galleries, like Gagosian Gallery and White Cube, that have established outposts in Hong Kong.

Those earlier forays into the city were instructive, Mr. Zwirner said. In particular, it helped his staff realize the importance of finding a space that could accommodate large works of art — a formidable challenge in Hong Kong, where open interior space is a luxury.

“I don’t expect any compromises,” Mr. Zwirner said. “If I go back to an artist and offer him or her a show, then I want them to be able to make exactly the kind of work that they want to make.”

Zwirner will be working with the New York architect Annabelle Selldorf to design the space, where the plan is to have ceilings about 13 feet high. Mr. Zwirner said the gallery would present about five to six exhibitions a year, initially focusing on artists currently on the Zwirner roster. They include Jeff Koons, Yayoi Kusama, Richard Serra and, most recently, William Eggleston.

He added that the gallery was making a “significant” commitment to its Hong Kong branch, in terms of both finances and time.

“I’m very optimistic,” he said. “I feel that more Western galleries will want to and have to arrive. It’s hard to imagine that if you really think globally in your business that you can’t be in Asia, and I think for the foreseeable future, that will be in Hong Kong.”

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page C3 of the New York edition with the headline: Hong Kong Outpost for David Zwirner. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe